"The economic reforms that have swept through China in the last decade have brought extraordinary changes to the country."
For now. Unfortunately, the fundamental form of their government essentially means they can take it back any time they want, without a second thought. Let's hope their leadership structure stays on the side of economic reforms.
They don't need to worry about the "power of the people" (the people have no real power), they don't need to worry about tarnishing their reputations for the next election (they control their media), they can just take their reforms back with virtually no recourse.
Not to mention we are funding most of this. We owe them most of our debt, and we're buying their goods.
This isn't a success because a communist government is actually working - it's a success because they've figured out how to get an essentially endless amount of money from the USA.
It's also because they are pulling back on some of the former communist principles. I dare say if they stuck to their communist guns and didn't allow anything non-state-controlled in China at all, their economy would have long since collapsed by now.
"It?s not as if China can simply leave the West, the Internet, and worldwide telecommunications behind."
Sure they can. Their government can do virtually anything they want without recourse, and they have the power to do so. It might not be good for them in the long run, but they certainly have the power to do so.
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